Windshield cleaner



l March 23 1926. r

n F. W. STEWART'A `WINDSHIELD CLEANER Filed May 31, -1922 2 Sheets-Sheet ll- NWN.

RN@ QN March 23 y1926.

F. w. STEWART WINDSHIELD CLEANERv Filed may 51, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet Eismann?? ,L a@ QN Patented Mar. 23, 1926.

` UNITED Asi*afrfizis FRANKLIN W'. STEWART, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.'

wINnsHrriLn CLEANER.

Application led May 31,`

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN IV. STEW- An'r, a citizen of the United States, 4residing at Chicago, in the (ounty of Cook and State 5 of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful yImprovements in Windshield Cleaners, ,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements 1n windshield cleaners.` y.

The object of the inventionis to provide 'an improved device in whichthe pressure ofthe squeegee against the glass may beadjusted readily from within thecar and even while the squeegee is operating. f

In the accompanyin drawings I have illustrated a simple an practical embodiment 'of my invention, ada tedvto a windshield cleaner equipped either with one squeegee or with two or more squeegees.

In the drawings--- Figure 1 is atop plan view partly 1n section of one form of the device; 1

Fig. 2 is a section on the l1ne2, 2 of Fie 1s.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a lan' view partly in'section cfa duplex winds ield cleaner; r

Fig.`5 is a section on the line 5, 5 of Fig.

i; and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6, 6 of Fig. 4. The windshield comprises a suitable frame 10, which may be of any cross-sectional form su porting a pane` of glass, 11. The

36 windshie d lcleaner comprises a' supporting plate 12 having bolts 13 or other suitable fastening meansv which -pass through the windshield frame 10 to lsecure the device in place. The inner ends of said .bolts are riveted into struckpup bosses 14, in sald base 12 whereby the boltstproject from a surface which is practically ush throughout.

The base plate 12 .is provided with end extensions 15- bent up at right angles to 4:5 support metal cups 16, each of which has a rub er diaphragm 17 secured thereto by a band 18. The rubbervdiaphragms are connected by a plate 19 having a b ent-up central portion, the middle of which 1s formed as a rack 20 with end extensions 21v sliding in guides formed on the plate 22. The device is `operated by suction from the engine, bein connected therewith by tube 23 communicating with suitable valve mechanism 24, not claimed in this application, the arner end ofthe. redis screw threaded at 35 and provided with a knurled nut 36 whereby 1922.l serial No. $64,794.'

rangement being such, that suction is applied 'alternately to one or the other of the cup-shaped members 16, thereby reciprocattin g the rack 20 and rocking the pinion 25 in mesh therewith. (Fig. 3.) v

Pinion 25 has al t1 ht fit on a tube 26, which has a washer 2 secured to its outer end and received within a struck-up boss 28 in thebase plate 12, whereby the end of said tube is almost-finsh with the face--of said against longitudinal movement by said washer on one side of said base plate and the pinion on the other side. The opening through said tube is polygonal in cross-section; preferably square, andreceives a s uare .v

rozl 29 capable .of sliding loosely' t erethroughand passing through aligned openings 30 in the windshield frame 10. The outer end of said rod is provided with a squeegee rod 31, pjreferably integral therewith and formed ys bending down the end of said' rod, lto the lower end of which squeegee 32 is attached; A spring 331sur rounds the horizontal portion ofthe rod 29 and is confined between a washer 34 and the end of the tube 26, thereby tending to-f move the squeegee away from the glass. The insaid rod. may be drawn inwardly against the action of said spring and the nut turned to adjust said sgueegee. A groove 37 on said nut fits on a pin 38 in the end of the tube 26, to prevent looseningvofsaid nut. The .Pov U pin may lalso be used as a' handle foractuating the squeegee by hand. The 'parts comprising theactuating mechanism of the windshield cleaner are preferably encased in a housing 39. v e

With the construction provided, it'will be apparent-that the pressure ofthe squeegee` against the glass may be adjusted to a nicety by the driver from within the car, by turning the nut 36. In devices such as used heretofore, the squeegeev rod is some times bent outwardly due to careless handling by garage employes in\wasliing the carv and as a'result, the squeegee does not touch the glass at all, or does not engage it suiiiciently to be effective. 'This defect is usually not discovered until the car is driven in the rain and the only way to'remedy it is to get out of the car in the rain and' bend 'the'rod back, repeated trials resulting'in determin- 11,?

so e

65 base :plate and whereby said tube is held.

snow or sleet,

ing 4the necessary friction to insure proper cleaning of the glass by the squeegee. yIn

the present device, the squeegee may not only be adjusted from within the car as abled to adjust the squeegee While it is 0pyus erating until the exact. which is necessary to theglass.k

pressure is obtained, wipe the sleet from This pressure can be found only il `by actual trial. It the sleet changes to snow or rain'a further adjustment may be made -V immediately, lessening the pressure of the squeegee accordingly.

The improvement has been described thus far in `conjunction with a single squeegee but it is adapted for use with two or more squeegees where it is desired to clean a 25 1 arger area of the glass. In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 a duplex cleaner is illustrated in which the suctionoperating mechanism is identical to that previously described, the corresponding parts being indicated by the same reference characters. The oscillating tube 26 has an outer extension 40 carrying a pinion 41 on the outside of the base plate 12, which pin'- ion meshes with a rack 42. Said rack is mounted within a channel-shaped member 43 and has rack teeth provided at its opposite ends 44, each toothed end meshing with a pinion 45. Each pinion-45 is mounted on a tube 46,` similar in general to the one previously described, having a square shaft 47 passing therethrough and carrying a squeegee rod 48 at its outer end with a spring 49 near said outerend and a knurled nut 50 at its inner end whereby each squeegee may be independently adjusted by the operator `from within the car. Obviously three or more squeegees may be mounted on thechannel-shaped supporting member 43, if desired. v

The cleaner is so designed that the same actuating mechanism may beused to operate either asingle or two' or more squeegees by the simple addition of the pinion 41, which meshes with the rack when said mechanism is mounted on the channel support instead of directly on the windshield frame. The base plate ,12 is secured to said channel byl rivets 51, and the combined structures are held to the windshield yframe by bolts 52.

The duplex squeegee -arrangement forms no part of the present invention, being claimed in my copending application 553,048, filed April 15, 1922.' The operating mechanism including the valve arrangement also .forms the subject-matter of a separate` applicatiom attacco What I claim is: 1. A windshield cleaner comprising a rod, a member rotatable therewith, said rody being slidable relatively to said member, a squeegee arm at the outer end of sai-d rod, a resilient member thereon adjacent said arm tending to urge said rod outwardly of said member and a member on tbe inner end of said rod cooperating with said rst named member for adjusting the squeegee on said arm with reference'to the lwindshield to be cleaned, said adjusting member being arranged to rotate with said rod and to con- ,tact only with said first mentioned member Vrotatable therewith.

2. A windshield cleaner comprising a rod, a member rotatabletherewith, said rod being slidable relatively to said member, a squeegee arm at the outer end of said rod, a resllient member thereon adjacent said arm tending to urge said rod outwardly of said member, and a nut on the inner end of said rod cooperating with said first named member for adjusting the squeegee on said arm with reference to the windshield to be cleaned, said nut being arranged Ito rotate with said rbd and to contact only lwith the said1 first mentioned member rotatable therewit 3. In combination with a windshield having a frame with an opening therethrough, a cleaning device comprising a supporting base secured to said frame, a tube rotatably mounted on said base, a rod slidably mounted Within said tube but non-rotatable with reference thereto, said rod projecting through said opening, a squeegee carried by the outer end of said rod, they inner end of said rod being screw threaded, and a nut engaging said screw threaded portion and cooperating with said tion of said nut ad'usts Said rod longitudinally within said tube. n l

4 In combination with a windshield having a frame with an opening therethrough, a cleaning device comprising a supporting base secured to said frame, a tube rotatably mounted on saidbase, a rod slidably mounttube whereby rotaed within said, tube but non-rotatable with rod projecting 5. A windshield cleaner comprising a noncircularv rod, a rotatable support. therefor iaving a correspondingly shaped non-circular opening through lwhich said rod passes substantially horizontally, the outer end of said rod being bent down arm, the inner end of said rod being l screw threaded and provided with a nut to to form a squeegee adjust 18a it with reference to said support and mea-ns for rocking said support to aetuate said squeegee arm.

6. A windshield cleaner comprising a rotatable member, a rod extendingthrough said member and having a squeeg'ee arm at `its outer end, a nuton the inner end of said rod adapted to adjust the same longitudinally Within Said ro-atable member, said rod being non-rotatable relatively to said member, and means for rocking said member to actuate said squeegee arm.

7 A Windshield cleaner comprising a supporting plate, an air motor thereon, a rotatable tube passing through said plate having 15 a shoulder thereon with means on the opposite side of said plate for holding sald tube against longitudinal movement, a rack and `pinion associated with said tube to oscillate lthe same, a rod shoably mounted 1n said In testimony whereof, I have subscribed 25 my name.

FRANKLIN W. STEWART. 

